"So please, Lord Kael, keep these rations in our stead."
Maela spoke as she bowed her head. Kael quickly grabbed her before she bent too much and hurt herself. Lavinia, on the other hand, observed all the elders standing behind Maela.
The look in their eyes was clear; no matter what she or Kael said, they wouldn’t listen to them.
It wasn’t just her; Kael understood it as well, and for a mont, silence fell over the place with Kael and Lavinia staring at each other before looking at the elders again.
For a mont, Kael was actually tempted to say that nothing was going to happen to them and that they should take the rations without worrying needlessly, but...
Kael understood that he wasn’t in the position to say those words.
These people saw him as God; if he said anything, they would take his words very seriously, they would actually start believing that nothing was going to happen to them anyti soon, but...
Neither Kael, nor Lavinia, nor anyone else knew that.
So of these elders were quite old. Even if they now had enough to eat and their bodies were getting enough nutrients, truthfully, the damage done to them in decades wasn’t sothing that could be healed.
As much as Kael didn’t want it to happen, he couldn’t confidently say that none of these elders would leave this world in this month.
They were old...
And their lifespan was running out.
There was nothing Kael could do about it.
After all, he wasn’t an actual God.
The only thing he could do was ensure the best possible treatnt for these people before death claid them.
"...alright."
In the end, Kael gave in.
He glanced at Lavinia; the Mage instantly understood what he wanted and nodded. She then slowly walked towards the rations the elderly had collected and stored them all inside her Sanctuary.
As he saw it happen, in his mind, Kael made a promise to himself that he would never let these elders sleep with a hungry stomach.
"Thank you, Lord Kael."
Maela spoke with a smile. Kael nodded with a heavy look on his face.
"Is the lunch already distributed?"
He asked, just to distract them.
"Yes, there is less crowd in the afternoon since most people are at work, so the lunch doesn’t take a lot of ti. We will be preparing the dinner in about two hours."
Maela answered with a smile. Kael, of course, already knew that since he had been keeping tabs on everything through the ants, but in the end, he nodded his head and—
"That is good.
I will return once the Divine Rations appear."
He spoke as he turned around.
The elders all nodded with a smile as Kael and Lavinia moved out and returned to their house.
But just as they were about to enter,
"Father."
Imperia called out again, and Kael nodded.
The Ant had already ntioned who was coming to et them before, so both he and Lavinia were already prepared.
"It looks like you knew I was coming."
Soon, Kael and Lavinia heard a light voice.
"Your magic is truly sothing beyond normal understanding, to think you actually know everything that is happening, all at the sa ti."
Aelindra spoke, her voice did not hide her awe.
"Elder Aelindra."
Kael greeted with a light bow. Aelindra returned the greeting in a similar manner,
"So you finally managed to procure Ergency Rations for this month, huh? Even more than what we usually had."
The Provisioners took about thirty to forty percent of Elderly Rations for the Ergency Rations; the numbers weren’t completely accurate since they took so for themselves too, but it was still sowhere close.
However, now that the elderly had given all of their monthly rations to them, the total was much larger than anything the Provisioners were able to collect every month.
"Not that you actually need those rations; after all, you have access to those ’Divine Rations,’ don’t you?"
Aelindra comnted, looking into Kael’s eyes, trying to find an answer.
Kael, however, just stayed silent. After all, this wasn’t his first ti playing this ga. As much as he detested it, he knew he had to beco one of the players in order not to be played by other players.
Since she didn’t get the answer she wanted, Aelindra tried to push it a little further,
"You still haven’t told us where that ration is coming from, Warden of Vigilance."
She spoke, using his title, as if trying to signify that this wasn’t his area of influence.
"We already revealed the answer to the Council, Elder. You must have mistakenly missed that, seeing that you are asking the sa question again."
Lavinia answered, staring right into Aelindra’s eyes.
"You do not expect us to believe that the rations appear simply because those people pray for it, do you?"
Aelindra countered.
"Because I can say it with absolute confidence, every single Velmourn had tried it before, including those who are doing it right now.
And it never happened."
"It is happening now."
Lavinia didn’t show any change in her expression.
"And this is why I do not accept your answer.
Please tell us the truth.
If you have a way to produce rations, share it with us.
With more people working on it, we might actually be able to resolve Velmourn hunger permanently."
Aelindra requested, her eyes showing urgency and desperation that one wouldn’t see in soone in a position of power.
After all, the Warden of Provisions truly did not care if Kael was expanding his influence under her sphere of authority, an act that was chipping away her power day by day.
Aelindra didn’t care about the ’power’ she had.
She had but one goal: feeding all her people till their bellies stopped growling with hunger, and for that, even if she had to fall on her knees and beg for it, she wouldn’t hesitate for even a second.
Sothing superficial like power wasn’t even on her list of concerns.
But...
"More people can work on it."
Lavinia looked into Aelindra’s eyes and—
"By praying for the Divine Rations."
She spoke directly, making it clear that she had no intention of telling her anything.
"You said it yourself, did you not? Every single Velmourn did it before, so there should be no problems doing it again."
For a mont, Aelindra turned silent. She looked into Lavinia’s expression, trying to read her face, but there was only so much she could read from the Mage’s calm, expressionless face.
In the end, the Warden of Provisions had no choice but to give in—
"Are you saying that if all the people pray for those rations, everyone can be fed?"
She questioned.
"We already made it clear a week ago, Elder Aelindra. We will be taking care of the Ergency Rations, and you now know that we are more than capable of doing that."
"I am not talking about the Ergency Rations."
Aelindra countered.
"I will not make any promises.
I will only say one thing,
Do not solely rely on us.
Even we do not completely understand how the Divine Rations work. The energy required to produce this energy is different from the Mana we are familiar with.
For my own ease, I call it Faith Energy, and Faith Energy isn’t just generated through prayers; it is primarily generated through Will."
"Will...?"
Aelindra frowned.
The Mage nodded,
"Yes, the Will of the People. We do not necessarily want people ’praying’ for food; what we need is their Will.
Their Will to stay honest, their Will to work hard, to stay united under one banner—that is what we need.
The current Velmourns can produce such energy in large amounts; their spirit is strong, but that doesn’t an it will be the sa in the future.
Their honesty, their ability to work hard, their unity—if even a single one of these is affected, the Faith Energy will falter, and it will affect the production of Divine Rations."
"So..."
"So do not rely on the Faith Energy. Continue growing your own food, store most of it as the Ergency Rations, and we will take care of feeding everyone till we have enough Faith Energy."
Lavinia answered with a nod, and as Aelindra understood those words, a determined look appeared on her face as she nodded back.
"I understand."
Saying those words, she turned around, ready to leave. However, before she left, another question appeared in her head. She then turned and looked into Lavinia’s eyes and—
"And what if... we never stop producing this Faith Energy?"
"Then you would never have to worry about food for your entire life."
Lavinia answered confidently, and Aelindra smiled at those words.
"Alright."
The Elder nodded as she walked away again.
After she left, Kael finally turned towards Lavinia and, with a tired sigh,
"What are you trying to do?"
He questioned.
The Mage just smiled lightly,
"Let play around a little, will you?"
"Are you sure your playing around won’t turn all of them into our enemies?"
Kael questioned with a skeptical look on his face, and Lavinia laughed out loud,
"Quite the contrary."
The Mage then grabbed Kael’s hand, wanting to take him inside, but then—
"Father..."
Imperia called out in a solemn tone, a tone that instantly alerted both Kael and Lavinia.
Sothing had happened.
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